Buckle.



O. E. PATTON.

BUCKLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.27,1911.

1,037,045, Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

Inventor Attorneys CHARLES E. PATTON, 0F FOND DU LAC, WISCONSIN.

, BUCKLE.

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Specification of Letteis l 'atent.

Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

Application filed. February 27, 1911. Serial No. 610,994;

new and useful Buckles, of which the fol-- lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to buckles, and has for its object to provide atwo-membered buckle wherein the members are detachable and attachable bya predetermined operation but otherwise prevented from detachment orattachment.

This invention although applicable for various purposes is particularlyadapted for use in connecting the straps of a horse blanket to preventthe accidental disconnection of the said straps.

To the above end this'invention is embodied in the novel construction ofparts as hereinafter described and claimed, and as shown in the drawingswherein,-

Figure 1 is an illustration of the buckle as applied to the straps of ahorse blanket. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the two members in separated ordetached position. Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective views showing thedifferent steps or stages of the attachment of the two members with eachother, the finalv step being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. Fig. 5 isa central longitudinal section through the buckle with the membersthereof attached to each other.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the two members of the buckle aredesignated I at F and M, the same being stamped from sheet metal ofdesired thickness and resiliency. The member F is provided -in its outerend with a slot 5 and a lip 6 adjacent the said slot for the attachmentof one of the straps S of the horse blanket ,or other article, and themember M is provided in its outer end with a plurality of slots 5 forthe attachment of the other strap. The member F is provided witha T-slot10 having the head thereof disposed inwardly, and the inner end of themember F adjacent the head of the if-slot is bent back over the head ofthe said opening to form a guard 21 projecting only partially over thehead of the opening. The head of the T-slot is designated at 17, whichextends into the bend of the guard 21, and the tail thereof isdesignated at 16. The other member M is provided with a T portion on theinner end thereof, the head 7 of which is wider than the head 17 of theT-slot of the other member and the shank 4 of which is wider than thetail of the said slot but narrower than the head of the said slot. Theobli ue dimensions from the outer corners 8 o the head 7 to the oppositeinner corners thereof, one of which is designated by the dotted line 27in Fig. 2, are greater than the oblique dimensions of the head of theslot of the member F for the reason to to be described hereinafter. isarranged in a close relation to the body of the member F and is adaptedto snugly receive the head 7 of the member M.

In use, the guard 21 prevents the T-head of the member M from beinginserted into the T-slot and then readily shifted into the head thereofto attach the two members together, and due to the fact that the obliquedimensions from the outer corners of the said head to the opposite innercorners thereof are greater than the oblique dimensions of the head ofsaid slot, it is impossible to engage one end of the said head in thehead of the said slot and swing the other end thereof through the saidslot to attach the said members together. Therefore, to attach the twomembers a novel predetermined operation is necessary. This operationconsists in canting or twisting the member M with respect to the memberF and projecting the head 7 through the tail 10 of the T-slot in themember F as shown in Fig. 3; then sliding the ember M toward the head ofthe said slot and twisting the member M to twist the shank 4 into thehead of the T-slot as designated in Fig. 4; and then by swinging themember M in alinement with the member F as designated in dotted lines,the attachment of the members is completed. When the members areattached, the head 7 of the member M is snugly received under the guard21 of the member F so that the members are retained in the same plane.Inasmuch as the shank 4 of the T-head of the member M is wider than thetail .10 of the T-slot of the member F it is impossible to insert theT-head through the said slot and swing the member M therein to attachthe two members and the head 7 being wider than the head of the slotprevents the two members from being pulled apart after being attached,and to detach the members it is absolutely necessary to reverse theoperation above de- The guard 21 the guard 21 as provided makes itabso-' scribed. It will therefore be seen that the accidental detachmentor disconnection ofthe members of the buckle is practically impossible.It will be 'also ditficult, if not impossible, for any one unfamiliarwith the operation necessary to tam or with the said members or tomalicious y detach the members, although the operation is comparativelysimple to those familiar with the buckle.

Although I am aware of the fact that it is old in the art to connect twomembers of a buckle by means of a T-head and a T-slot in the respectivemembers, particular stress is applied to the fact that the dimensions oftheparts as heretofore described and lutely necessary that the twomembers be attached and detached according to the operation abovedescribed. I, therefore, do not broadly claim a buckle comprising twomembers wherein the respective members are provided with a T-head and aT-slot,

What I do specifically claim and desire to protect by patent is:

A two-membered buckle, one member having a T portion, and the othermember having a T-slot with the head disposed inwardly and the inner endof the said member being imperforate and bent back partially over thehead of the slot and in a close relation to the body. of the said memberto snugly receive the head of the" T portion the widthof the shank'andhead of the T portion and the oblique dimensions from the outer cornersof the head to the opposite inner corners of which are greaterrespectively than the widths of the tail and head of the slot and theoblique dimensions of the head thereof.

In testimony-that I claimthe foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES E. PATTON..

Witnesses:

ELIZABETH RICHTER, H. E. Swan.

